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Marlboro maker leaves the flavored e-cigarettes industry

Altria, a firm that owns Marlboro decided to remove some of its e-cigarette products in the market.

Altria Group, Inc. is an American corporation and one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of tobacco cigarettes and related products.

The company said that it will be removing two of its pod-based products, the MarkTen Elite, and Apex by MarkTen in the market, both units are a pod kit e-cigarettes owned by the Altria Group. They added that they would only sell menthol and mint flavors for its other, non-pod-based vaping devices. But Altria is claiming that they will be selling the products again if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will clarify the rules in marketing the products.

This decision was on a fact that e-cigarettes attract more young people. The FDA ordered five manufacturers in September that they have to submit plans within 60 days on ways to reduce teen use, and Altria was the first company to publicly share a response to the agency. While e-cigarette makers inform that the e-cigarettes would help adult smokers to quit, the FDA says that sweet flavors attract more teens.

Altria made around $25.6 billion last year which a fraction of it was from e-cigarette sales, thus as far as the decision of cutting off some of its e-cigarette line-ups will not make much of an effect in the company. The company has sold about $220.3 million worth of e-cigarettes over the last year.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, FDA commissioner says that the e-cigarette products is a much less harmful option to adult smokers than smoking.